No Food Limits

mn_cupcake_09

Books by K J Foxhall

Sea Shepherd UK

HELP PROTECT MARINE LIFE NOW!

I have been a supporter of SEA SHEPHERD UK for some time now - I swam 10K for them in March 2014, please help save our oceans and our future. This is not an over-exaggeration, please donate now if you can.

Being part of the VW scene does have its perks, for example, last year for free, we were given an old VW beetle ride on for Monster. Given that Monster was only four months at the time they could just about sit in it properly.

This was predominantly Jack’s project but other life priorities took over and he then found himself without the time to overhaul the toy. We knew we couldn’t keep putting it off otherwise Monster would have outgrown it by the time it was finished.

When Jack picked it up, it was a primer colour grey with blue wheel caps. It was aged but still in very usable condition and the idea of refurbishing an older toy always appeals. It adds the personal touch and it is not that often I get to be creative. I still have the pictures for the book The Last Dragon in draft that need to be finished sometime, though Monster may be well into their teens when that happens.

To be true to form Jack purchased actual VW colours and had settled on a colour scheme, so as far as I was concerned, all I had to do was paint the car.

I began to paint the car with the spray and then soon ran into difficulties. By that point the masking tape sectioning off area had been on for several months and so it was sticking and took quite a bit to get it off. In fact, I think some is still on there. I also had the issue that the spray cans were not equipped to deal with an area so small, and they were not the right spray equipment to use anyway. So after several weeks, and as a last resort, I changed the style and went to good old fashioned paint brushes and paint with no masking tape and carried out the refurbishments freehand. I changed the paint to Plastikote enamel paint which is better suited for toys, and it was also quick drying.

A quick trip to Ebay sourced the finishing touches of a personalised number plate and genuine VW badges.

I moved the ride-on in side the house as I was no longer spray painting and it completely transformed before my eyes. I am not the type of person to give up on a project unless absolutely necessary, but I am really happy with the end result. Jack sent a picture to the previous owners and they were over the moon with it, so overall a brilliant result.
So what was Monster’s reaction, well Monster felt the need to just push it around for a bit. I think they are still trying to get used to the idea of an actual seat rather than a ride on.

Here are some of the items I purchased from Amazon to complete this project: